Thursday, December 20, 2012

Are wine language an insider phenomenon - a commutation form only for the initiated?

Sometimes it is – sometimes not, or is it only because we assume the obvious is logical.

What is interesting about wine language is that it’s is a dynamic substance, which evolves with trends and corrections. Yet again, it could be that you discovered expressions along the way; you once had no idea what were, but now use as they were second nature.

Let’s take wine language down to a more specific level.

“The wine is round”

You know what I am talking about, right? Round would be pleasing, soft and friendly. A wine with no hard edges, which could have a lush profile, filled with deep and intense fruit. Velvet tannins, could also lead to round – even if the notes of chocolate and vanilla would appear, we could think of round. Yes we know round, don’t we?

“The wine is square”

Tricky! I assume a lot of people would have no idea what a square wine was or if so - our assumptions could most likely be miles apart and the term could have multiple meanings.

If we have to understand “square” properly we will have to have broader context and more information. I will give it to you now.I heard this “square” expression in arecent radio interview (it's in Danish) with chief sommerlier Pontus Elofsson from restaurant Noma .The host of the radio show asked Pontus why Noma and other top restaurants here in Denmark are turning more and more into natural wines – to a degree that the conventional wines are slowly being phased out. Pontus said something like this:

“The trend at these restaurants is a more terroir defined kitchen. The distance between nature and plate is very short. The expression of the food is very brutal and honest – so is the wine. The starting point for both food and wine are the same. The conventional wines are very specific and square and might be spot on to a very specific dish. But when you pair against food, which is extremely wild, unruly and open - they fail. They simply don’t hit the right tones, like natural wine do. These natural wines work because they are flexible and open"Does it make sense now?

(Pontus Elofsson)

Let’s try another term.

“The wine is free”

First time I got exposed to this term was the “Fri vin” event. I had a very good idea what “Free wines” were, as all of the producers attending either flirted with natural wines, organic, bio or very strong terroir orientated Champagne. Looking back – I didn’t get the term exactly right then, but I think it get it now.

A free wine…if we stay in the geometry lessons, we could say it’s a wine with no shapes – a wine that can’t be fitted into a form. A wine that is unruly, wild and open as Pontus pointed out. For me it’s also a wine that lives – filled with energy and life. Not belonging to a shape also means not forced to be a part of shape. Free wines tend to shoot in all kinds of directions because they are not forced only to go in one direction.

The most important thing for a wine to be free is that it lives.

It often takes me less than 10 seconds to know if it’s a free wine I have in the glass, but the obvious brain signal is almost impossible for me to explain. My best try would be it’s a wine I can feel – a wine that speaks to me and I can speak to the wine.

I know I’ve probably lost a few here and you been wondering what I have been smoking – but that’s the point. Free wines are an inexplicable connection between life in the wine and life in you. Those of you already exposed to free wines, know what I am mumbling about (please say yes).

I also know, when I present the geometry like this, I make the shapeless sound as the free paradise and the conventional, correct and square sound as hell on earth. Then we are back to the trench warfare of conventional vs natural wines. That’s not the case – at least not 100% ;-). You see correct and square can be great, when the variables are there. Such as my mood, food, occasion and friendship. But for my emotional barometer to get going it’s the shapeless, crazy, spontaneous, which reminds me I am alive and wine is more than just a liquid.

As all good students – I have an example for you. A square wine and a free wine – here goes.

The square wine:

2001 Felsina, Chianti Classico Riserva “Rancia”

Blend: 100% Sangiovese

Terroir: Limestone and Galestro marl

Vineyard: 6,25ha – southwest exposure – 410m above sea level.

Fermentation: Temperature 28-30°c

Maceration: 16-20 days.

Ages of vines: Roughly 50 years

Aging: A mix of barriques and old oak casks – total of 16-18 months, plus 6-8 months in bottle

Glass: Zalto Bordeaux

Maybe it’s not fair to call Rancia a square wine. Or should I say it’s a dilemma to mark it as square. To some degree it’s exceptional square and yet again it seems like a wine have simply not woken up and I doubt it ever will.

I have tasted Rancia many times before in several vintages and know it takes time to come around. I even remember the 2001 here, which I tasted just after its release and decided to keep my six-pack well hidden in the back of my cellar. Here – many years later it’s still rock hard and not exactly a pleasure to drink

Sangiovese comes in many shapes and Rancia belongs where the red perfumes is transformed into darker cherry formations, Tuscan dust and dried herbs. We are not dealing with high alcohol or an extracted wine here – but my God I miss some life. The wine is tuned into a frequency, which I can’t listen to and no matter how gently I tried to whisper in it’s ear it seems almost offended and no contact was ever established.

It’s the kind of wine where you take a sip of the glass and are disappointed every time, but still hope something better will appear. It didn’t happen and even though I have 5 bottles left I fear they are technical already dead.

The Free wine:

2010 Jean François Ganevat “Plein Sud”

Blend: 100% Trousseau

Terroir: Gray Marle and pebbles

Vines: Planted in 1949 and 2000

Production: approx. 15.000 bottles

Other: Almost all of Ganevat’s wines are without sulphur and can age really well.

Glass: Zalto Burgundy

To quote a friend on FB – “Ganevat is a genius”.

I couldn’t agree more and I could have picked all of his wines to represent my little experiment, but "Plein Sud" just happened to be the latest I’ve drunk and I had a couple of days after “Rancia”, which put focus on the contrast and why I thought about writing this thread.

Like all of Ganevat’s wines they are incredible delicious - drinking exceptional well with low alcohol and unbelievable juiciness. But there is also intellect – mind-blowing combination of depth, clarity and energy. You are instantly in close contact with the wine. It embraces you with open arms and the only problem is that the bottle is rapidly empty.

Ganavet can like no other from Jura lead your mind into Burgundy comparisons. He brings out an overly delicate sweetness, which in the case of this Plein Sud shapes like candy raspberry perfumes, cherries, Christmas spices and these ethereal notes. The taste is vivid – floating like a feather, yet with enormous bite and persistence. Absolutely gorgeous and free wine.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

The
questions have of course been asked over and over again, and it clings like a naive
cliché to ask it. Hypothetical, speculation and somewhat irrelevant one might
say. Nevertheless mind joggling with theories can occasionally be
interesting.

If women
ruled the world, how many World Wars would we have had; 1,2,3,4 or maybe not a
single one? Would we even have nuclear weapons or at all know what they were? A
Middle East conflict, dictatorship, world hunger, Global warming, financial
crises or how much would Cristiano Ronaldo earn a month???

What about
wine?

What if
there was no male wine journalist or at least the leading wine critics were
mainly female. We would be loaded with Jancis Robinsons clones. We could also
assume there wasn’t a system
with hats, stars or points, which ranked wine.

Wine still
got reviewed in this female paradise, but the framework was far less rigid.

Systematic
tasting of wine didn’t exist. Suppressing variables, which could influence our
judgements was an illusion. In fact we did the opposite and highlighted everything
that influenced us. Wine tasting
didn’t really exist; it was derived secondary result of drinking wine.

The tight
and organized overview of the wine we have today was very different. The hierarchical
subdivision of wine was far more complex, as a certain breed of wines suited
our needs one day, but maybe not the next. Some would say the controlled and
easy consumer overviews of wine we have today, was a big mess in the hands of
the women. A jungle no one ever
thought about cleaning up or organize.

The
storytelling of wine was on a holistic level. How the taster related to the
wine on all thinkable levels. We focused on symbioses between nature, culture, people,
moods, occasions, food, diversity, temperature, humidity, glasses, lunar
calendar…. etc. The best wines, could like today be those who were utterly
complex and to a degree of supernatural. But the mojo was always drinking
pleasure and how the wine was in synch with variables, our minds and emotions.

Norms
didn’t exist, as there were no rules.
Sure Wine A could be miles better than wine B. But wine A, could also be
horrible the following Tuesday, horrible the next week also, but utterly
sensational, when you had it a week later, with some friends in Tuscany. We
weren’t embarrassed to tell how a wine could appeal so differently over so
short a time span, as it was a consequence of having full presence with wine
and we always spoke highly focused on the variables, which changed the outcome.

We didn't think we were smarter than wine and we always needed to “nail it”. We loved
being in doubt, because it reminded us that wine was a function of our complex
life.

Science
fiction?

Maybe, but
are we/you satisfied with what we have today? When you found a love for wine,
how long did it take for you to realize that wine was also about “code of
conduct?” Have we in fact just jumped onboard and pressed, “I agree” without
reading between the lines?

Many
question – very little answers.

I don’t
have them all – as I am not here to judge. I am however here to ask questions and
be curious, because clinic tasting of wine it not something I believe in. I
believe in variables and I embrace them.

1995
Château Montus “XL”

Grape: 100%
Tannat

Terroir: Strong
slopes interspersed pebbles, 3 meters of red clay

Vines: 25
years old

Vinification:
Fermentation at 28 ° C in wooden vats

Maceration
for 3 to 6 weeks (depending on the vintage)

Bredding:
On lees, 40 months in new barrels of 400 liters

Production:
4000 bottles

Existing
vintages of “XL”: 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000

Glass: Riedel Sommerliers Bordeaux Grand Cru

The other
week I decided it was time to serve a wine I have basically been waiting 15
years to taste. There was only one person I could drink this wine with - my good
friend, Claus whom I have been drinking wine with for almost 20 years now.

Had I chosen
to share this wine with my wife, it would have failure written all over it. I speculate she would have categorized
it as what she often calls a “typical maleness wine”. Taste it myself then? No!
– I can already see how I have been far more analytic (maybe…I don’t know
100%).

Together
with Claus, there was a connection, which started by itself, as Montus was one
of the very first wines he and I shared together. Why not use this? Why not
bring myself to a state of mind, where I was already smiling, when he was blind
guessing on this wine. You see, we collected Montus and held tastings, where it
often acted as joker in Bordeaux flights.

However during the years and with
plenty of water flowing in the river, Montus have sunk into oblivion. Yet tasting
it again made me realize, the journey we take in wine is not always about defining
your taste here and now. We still have memorable moments, when our taste was
different. Today Claus and I doesn’t necessarily share taste in wine, but
Montus made that link back in time and that was exactly what I hoped for.

The wine
was thrilling because of this special occasion. It reminded us how elegant
Montus can turn out when you give it +10 years in the cellar. It also reminded
me how many different wines I have actually tasted during the years.

Claus started
his first blind guess with Bordeaux, which wasn’t a surprise to me. I would
have guessed the same, if I were in the hot seat. Notes like; vanilla, melted
milk chocolate, sweet cedar wood, cigar box and healthy ripe blackcurrant were
the perfect recipe for Bordeaux. It even delivered a very classy taste, with
solid good bite and structure. However after this guess he paused for some 20
minutes – had a refill and then said out loud: “Montus!!!!” We laughed and at
this moment a window was opened to memory lane and the stories just floated, as
we were back in our twenties.

Had I had
this wine alone or at a systematic controlled tasting event, the outcome would
have been very different.

So my
advice to you is to embrace everything in wine that can influence you, because
in the long run you can’t suppress them anyway.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

In early
November I had the pleasure to meet Jérôme Prévost here in Copenhagen @
restaurant *Kadeau (*food is absolutely gorgeous – incredible deep centred with
lots of earthy, gamey and umami flavours).

It always a
treat - life affirming to met up with the kind of winemakers, which are so
humble and relaxed like Jérôme. To me it’s in sheer contrast to the stressed “office
life” most of my friends and I live.
It’s one of the main reasons, why I can never get tired of wine and why
I have decided to write about it.

His wines
are not bad either – in fact, he was the first - and I still consider him a
pioneer – taken the sometimes one-dimensional baroque profile of Pinot Meunier
into a multifaceted landscape.

Jérôme
resides in Gueux – just 12 km west of Reims. He calls the estate La Closerie
where he has two hectare of +40 year old Pinot Meunier. The parcel is named
“Les Béguines”. Jérôme told us, that he has acquired nearby land and planted
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and pinot gris. However the vines are still in their
youth – but this will of course be very interesting to follow, despite the
production will be very limited.

(“Les Béguines")

Currently two
wines are on display. The 100% Pinot Meunier (non-dosage) La Closerie “Les Béguines"
and his rosé “Fac-Simile” (dosage: 2 g/l) – also a pure assamblage Meunier. However he also used to make a third cuvée “D’ailleurs” which I have been
fortunate to taste in London in vintage 2003. Absolutely spectacular Champagne
and one of the first Jérôme Prévost Champagnes I tasted. As I understand
it – it’s only a two time offering – in 2000 and 2003 vintage and the
difference was selective plots on the “Les Béguines” parcel and it spent one
year more in barrel.

A key
element with his Champagnes is their fined tuned food pairing abilities. Champagne are in general a treat to the
table, but especially with “Les Béguines” it becomes a magical catalyst. I think it’s very much related to the
wide spectrum of spices and herbal character his Champagnes offers.

The intro
wine served this evening - with six lovely snacks - was the challenging 2010vintage of “Les Béguines".

Jérôme lost
one third of his production in 2010 due to a devastating rainstorm, which torn
Champagne between 15th <> 17th of August. Despite
you sense it’s not a Champagne that has the depth of previous vintages – it’s still
possesses good freshness and acidity sparkle. Again – the Champagne took a step up in companionship with
food.

We
continued with the 2009 vintage, which has greater nerve and precision. I have
tasted it before and I found some of the same keynotes present like: Black
cherries, oat flakes, pear, cornfield, almonds, sour dough and these lovely
spices. The 2009 are still tight, with very little oxidative character. Jérôme told
us, how the bottling of his Champagnes sort of takes them into a reductive winter
hides, where It can take up to six years before he can recognize the product he
worked with in the cellar, before he bottled them. Knowing this, makes we wonder if we/I are in fact drinking
his Champagnes too early?

His rosé“Fac-Simile” in vintage 2009, was next. At my table the judgement was quickly
leading into a nice but somewhat simple product in comparison with “Les
Beguines". I was a bit sad it turned out like this – not that I strongly
disagreed that his “white” Champagne is better and more complex. However I
don’t think you should always
classify – especially when comparing two very different products. Bottom-line
is that I think the rosé has something to offer and overall fit’s into a very
elegant style of rosé, which has more to say than those somewhat fruit crazy
rosé offerings, with too much oak treat.

So in order
to put some focus on his rosé I decided to have the 2008 vintage a couple of
weeks later.

(“Fac-Simile” - 2008 vintage here)

I am
confident “Fac-Simile”is a Champagne that can age – and WILL change a lot with
cellaring. Simple is not the right label – I think some will realized in time.

Both the
’09 and ’08 are currently very shy and taut – almost at a degree of being reductive.
However the debut vintage ’07 is not at all like this and though it might not
be as robust as ’09 & ‘08 it have already taken on several layers and an expressive
style; revealing lots of oxidative notes.

The ’09
flirts with “simple” - yet
pleasing light red perfumes, such as raspberries, strawberries and some
apricot. Like the ’08, it’s lights
on its toes and has an adorable fine structure. The ’08 are made in the same
frame, but have a deeper fruit intensity and complexity. The trick to bring out its beauty is to
follow it slowly over an evening and pay attention to its structural heartbeat.
A way to do that is to choose a bigger glass than a regular flute and raise it
temperature. Around 14 degrees things start to happen and it’s so defined at
this temperature, despite still being very youthful. Here the bitterness takes
a step back and the structure unfolds far more energetic signals on the palate.
When I had the ’08 at home, it never became a bouquet revelation, but more a
Champagne, with enormous elegance, fascinating bite and energy on the palate. I
would however be very patient with “Fac-Simile” and wait these 5-6 years.

Next was
2008 “Les Beguines". I tasted it a month before the tasting
and already knew what was coming. I was not disappointed – it could very well
be the most impressive vintage I have tasted and it’s so deep and complex. Will
of course be even better, but there is so much adorable lush fruit and energy,
so I can be enjoyed already now.

We
continued with the 2005 vintage of “Les Beguines". Jérôme is not at all pleased with this
vintage, which he thinks has some very unfortunate rotten notes. It’s once
again the big dilemma of ’05, where many producers had to deal with rot, which
can shape like mushroom, moist cellar and rotten potato notes.

I thought
the ’05 was fairly okay, when being served, but the more air it attracted the
more you sense these funky aromas, which is also an issue on the palate, where
it breaks off a bit short.

Indeed a
fine tasting and a real pleasure to met Jérôme Prévost, whom I plan (and hope)
to visit again in Champagne in 2013.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

It happened
again last week. My old wine club
met at my house and like the most natural thing in the world we individually
concluded which wine(s) we liked the most.

Why do we
do this and why is wine always subject to this rather simple algorithm??

When you
make your call about the best, you have a fairly good argumentation for making
that assessment. It’s even measured against your knowledge, experience and
preferences. But how come the valuation and ranking of wine is something we do
like a reflex and would it be possible to find an alternative??

Wine has
always been highly opinionated and consumer guide orientated. We as consumers
can’t escape this routine and it’s the DNA of the learning curve. Finding out
what wines you like. Bring order to chaos and by the end of the journey we can
finally say; “All the good wines are left – no need to turn right anymore”.

Furthermore
being an experienced taster, would naturally lead to others wanting to hear your
opinion. “So what’s your favourite
wine?”….”Which of the two do you like the most?”

There is a
grey area we don’t pursue, when we make this analogy. In my opinion we are too
busy breaking the equation by the constantly ranking. Thing is – tasting wine
is a quick and dirty process. Gathering, discarding - plusses & minuses. We
are demons, hunting great dopamine memories and our brain is a drug addict wanting
a specified fix over and over again.

We have to
bring ourselves out of this straitjacket. Wine has to be more than this. We
should stick to expressing our opinions, but we have to be more diverse, as we
risk reducing more than enhancing.

Personally
I think I am getting better at this – not that in itself is a quest I force
myself to complete. Yet I often find myself haunted by my habits and in the end
far from the perfect student. Yet I try to say to myself; better might in some
cases just relate to “different?”

I like
complex and geeky wines with my wine club – I like simple honest wine with my
wife. Simple is not necessarily worse – in some cases better. I like Champagne
every day of the week, I like Italian wines better with Italian food. I like
wine A because it paired better with carrots, but wine B better because it
paired better with celery. I like some wines at summertime – some better at
winter. I like mostly wine with food, but can do without in some cases. Some
wines don’t appeal to me when I am stressed, so wines do.

And so on….

With this
short intro – I present Italy’s best red wine ;-).

2001
Soldera Brunello di Montalcino “Case Basse Riserva”

100%
Sangiovese

Winemaker:
Gianfranco Soldera

Fermantation:
Slavonian oak casks for five years

Winemaking:
Organic

Vineyards: Located in an Ecosystem, which works as
a refuge area for natural predators where Gianfranco wife Graziella grows a
large range of wild roses.

Alcohol:
13%

Other:
Opened 10 hours in advance – but no decanting.

Glass:
Zalto Bordeaux Grand Cru

I have been
fortunate to taste a lot of Case Basse…and I mean fortunate, because my wallet
is running out of credit to finance such extravagance.

Case Basse
is the essence of Italian wines to me. It’s a benchmark wine – an icon and
despite I don’t like the idea of putting some wines on a pedestal I have to
make exception here. Whenever I truly get exited about Italian wines, there might
well be a reflection towards Casse Basse.

I can’t say
to you where the 2001 fits into the ranking regime of my best experiences with
Case Basse. There are too many great experiences, which have all occurred under
very different occasions and circumstances. It doesn’t really matter, because
it’s mind-blowing wine to me and extremely emotional. The essence of wine is here and why at all I have this obsession and use time writing
these lines.

The tasting
note is needless here. It’s the soul of Italy, Tuscany, Sangiovese and Brunello. It’s also
food, people, culture, landscape and authenticity. If you have never tasted Case Basse – you haven’t tasted a Brunello.
If you can’t afford it, but are infected with the Italian wine bug, you have to
save up.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Some weeks ago, I had the
chance to taste these wines @ Søllerød Kro, as my good friend Bent had invited
a bunch of wine lovers.

First time in several
years, I didn’t bring my camera and I must say it was so much more relaxing. So
the images are from the archive.

(The colour of Les Ursules 2009 is something else)

Cedric
Bouchard "Les Ursules" (2009)

Selosse
1996

Selosse
les Carelles

Agrapart
Experience 2007

Clos
des Goisses 1996

Meursault
Goutte d’Or Comte Lafon 2004

Meursault
Genevrieres Comte Lafon 2004

Chassagne
Montrachet La Romanee Maltroye 2007

Vosne
Romanee 1 cru DRC 2008

Vosne
Romanee les Genevrieres Leroy 2007

Clos
de Vougeot Leroy 2001

Clos
de Vougeot Meo Camuzet 2002

NSG
les Cras Comte Liger Belair 2006

Grands Echezeaux
DRC 2007

Echezeaux
Comte Liger Belair 2007

La
Romanee Comte Liger Belair 2003

Richebourg
Hudelot Noellat 2007

Chambolle
Musigny les Amoureuses Lucien de Moine 2005

Chambolle
Musigny les Amoureuses Bertheau 2005

Chambolle
Musigny les Amoureuses Roumier 2006

Billecart
Salmon cuvee Elizabeth 1998

(Søllerød kro once again the scene for a tasting)

The
2009 Les Ursules is dynamite juice – so intense and precise. The ooze of
tarragon, black cherries and diamond dust are thrilling. The colour was once
again amazing.

1996
Selosse – one of the best examples I have had of this wine. Incredible deep
Champagne with exotic fruits, buttery sensations and deep quince notes. The
taste is shocking long and balanced. Perhaps the best 1996 out there.

1996
Clos de Goisses was completely wiped out by Selosse. I tried to give it some
spotlight, as being in a flight with Selosse is mostly a losing game. It didn’t
make the wine any better and it stands out as much more impure with low energy
and way too much dosage.

Selosse "les Carelles". I am not 100% sure, but I think this
was the 2004, which is blended with a bit of ‘03. It’s overwhelming
concentrated with supernatural powers. Almost too much – but Selosse balances
it out. It has Selosse typical oxidized character. I expressed my concern about
a little too much wine making and trademark of Selosse and not the chalky
Mesnil character. But then again – it’s his interpreting of the terroir and it
also has a beautiful salty finish. I look forward to taste it again and
especially follow it over a whole evening as the oxidized expression so often
caves in with air.

I
have looked forward to taste the 2007 Experience from Agrapart. First of all
placing it in this flight with Selosse was a mistake in my opinion – they were
completely opposites. Many around the table didn’t like it all – especially the
nose. I loved it – absolutely fascinating stuff and I think Pascal have managed
to bring out something very unique. It plays on many strings – ranging from sea
breezes, floral waters, pineapple, mango, buttercup, mint and jasmine tea. It’s
outrageous pure, zippy fresh and sleek. Magnificent stuff.

The
whites were a big step down from Champagne and once again a white Burgundy
disappointment.

I can’t
go into all of the reds, but my favourite was without a doubt Leroy’s 2001 Clos
de Vougeot. What a thrilling wine it was. Best because it had the best energy,
vitality and purity and it actually reminded me most of natural wine.

Both
DRC wines were also lovely. The 2008 Vosne Romanee had a sensational note of roses
and the 2007 Grands Echezeaux displayed notes of tealeaves, pine needles, egg whites and rounded
up with a adorable slim - yet very deep finish.

If to
talk about disappointments, it would be the wines from Liger Belair. These
wines were at all times very polished and oak driven (not alcoholic and
extracted) and easily detected in the flights. I have tasted some of these
wines before outside such a big line-up, where they did better with a very
seductive appeal. They are however quite polished, which in this big line-up
was not a plus. So it happens that blind tastings is not necessarily the “truth”,
but of course an interesting study.

The
last flight was the Amoureuses wines. I was expecting delicate and refined
strawberry perfumes to burst out of the glasses. However, very dark, dense and
somewhat clumsy wines was present in all three glasses. Around the table were
several Burgundy fans, which all believed these wines (especially the ‘05s )
will shine in future. I am no expert here – I didn’t really like them now, but
let’s see.

Friday, October 12, 2012

We Danes
are proud of our strawberries. We honestly believe they rank among the best in
the world – because they both posses depth in flavour, good acidity and lots of
delicate freshness. Most Danes are however missing out on the best varieties,
because their yields are too low and they go too fast in putrefaction. Fast
like you should eat them almost instantly after they have been picked.

You can
source these typical old varieties from local farms or grow them yourself and
they are so incredible intense.

If turning
to wine, we connect wines ability to age with something graceful and a positive
aspect. For sure understandable, as it adds to the storytelling that wine is a
living organism and will unfold secondary nuances, revealing (sometimes) the
true identity and scope of a wine.

However
some wines are also adorable when young and can at times be even better.
Overall it’s very difficult to find a generalizing thumb rule for what people
like the most. The compromise would probably be that wines ability to age is associated
with greatness – but it will be a more individualistic perception preferring
wine young or old.

However –
wines that can’t age and even will disintegrate soon after you have pulled the
cork would be something we look upon as bizarre and not great wine – regardless
how it actually tasted. We would even mark most of these wines as flawed
because they would flirt with an oxidized profile.

Have you
ever asked yourself who has defined those standards? Are wine – or any kind of
other passion/hobby not truly more fascinating when you can relate fully to it? Are we not seeking to understand how our
own assessments align with all the experience we have obtained? How can we have
such strong passionate opinions about something we have not fully discovered?
Aren’t experts – or nerds expected to go an extra mile and be even more
detailed and curious?

I have to
say that I am somewhat puzzled – especially when turning to my local backyard,
how confident the Danish wine journalists are when defining what is right and
wrong. I believe strongly in scepticism when it comes to wine – but not when
the norms are already pre-defined.

Learning
new things, taken a new stand should be logic wisdom as we expand our knowledge
and experiences. The result is changing your opinion. Saying out loud; “I was
wrong”. This is no way near ok, when it comes to wine, because the fine
stiff-necked wine culture establishment believes in nothing but their own
standards. No one can teach them anything new.

You can
probably guess that the wine in the spotlight is not your everyday bonanza
wine. It’s once again a wine from Jean-Yves Péron. Opening a wine from him is
always associated with a degree of dipping ones toes into the unknown. I can’t hide that this kind of
excitement factor is something I really appreciate. Curious and restless - yep, that’s probably me. But it also
comes down to being naked, having no pre-defined rules, for what’s fine wine
and why can’t wine taste like this?

2010
Jean-Yves Péron “Les Barrieux”

Blend: 100% Roussane

Terroir: Mica schist with aluminum and oxide-iron. Soil is
quite light, draining out and warming up quickly

Vineyard: 0,2 ha.

Vines: Planted in 2005/06

Viniculture: Organic

Vinification: 10 days of Carbonic maceration - aged
one year in barrels on lies.

Sulphur: Zero in all steps. Natural sulphur was less than 2mg/l

Location: Savoie

Alcohol: 12,5%

Glass: Zalto Universal

I have
tasted it two times, but the post-preparations were a little different. First
time – from having been stored horizontal in the wine cabinet for about 3 weeks
and standing upright in the fridge for a day. Second time it was upright for a
week in the fridge.

So why is
this important?

The wine
has some degree of sediment, which accelerates the oxidized character, when in
contact with the juice. If you let it stand up for a week it feels slimmer and
less crazy. I liked both experiences, but I think if you have it upright for a
week you have a more balanced expression and a more clear wine in the glass.

Make no
mistake that despite maybe not being crazy; it will probably raise an eyebrow
or two.

First of
all the Roussane can attract a lot of exotic fruity notes, which is also the
case here. It starts almost like a dessert wine, with really overripe fat
peaches, mango, apricot and some degree of sherry resemblance oxidation. There is also a deeper and darker baseline,
which has a slightly herbal touch to it. The taste is however no way sweet, but
quite demanding, intense – but at the same time bone dry with a really long
finish.

That as
close as I can describe it – forgive me, but this tasting doesn’t really give
justice to how it really tasted. I can’t give you any other advice of trying it
yourself. It will not be for everyone and you have about 4 hours before it dies
out. But those 4 hours are worth
it all.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Wine descriptors are
among many parameters also associations and known to include the word “sexy”.
That’s however just an appetizer, because today’s so called tasting notes uses
parallels to famous characters, which personality acts as a hybrid to describe the
taste or feel of a wine.

The idea in itself is not
bad.

With one stroke you can
connect a wine to a person, who most people will probably know and have an idea
how that person fits into the tasting note.

But here the allure
starts to fade out…..

You see – most
descriptors are really corny, sleazy and mostly written by men. They tend to
swing in a direction of describing voluptuous women - actresses, models or rock
stars. A Pamela Anderson wine – a
classic and we all know what that is – or do we? The Italian equivalent: A
Sophia Loren wine, Spain: Penélope
Cruz and France has to be Bridget
Bardot – or?

We could try to replace
the female names above with some male celebrities. So how about a John Wayne, Humphrey
Bogart or a Darth Vader wine? Not really – maybe a George Cloony wine…I know my
wife will like that and I can imagine such a wine – can you? The Italian
version… Berlusconi..naaahhh not really, what about a Eros Ramazotti wine? The
Spanish red has to be a Pedro Almodovar, right? And the French wine could be a
Jean-Paul Belmondo…not that I would look forward to drink such a wine.

The more I think about it
– it’s kind of sick really.

Anyway – I don’t really
know were I am going with this, other than I am about to present a wine, which
label should make theses sexy descriptors redundant.

2010 Jean-François Ganevat “J'en
Veux”Blend: 17 different
grapes

Terroir: Most likely
several – coming from Ganevat 1,8 hectare, which ranges from schists, clays and
marls

Vines: Ungrafted – some
over 100 years old.

Location: Jura

Sulphur: zero

Alcohol: 11%

Other: All grapes are
de-stemmed by hand

Glass: Zalto Bourgogne

How does 17 forgotten
grapes taste like? “Dangerous wine” one of my friends said – and the importer
just smiled…and what’s is Ganevat trying to say with this label? I can’t answer
that – but I can try to give you an idea what’s underneath the panties.

The wine is pure bliss
and fulfilling almost everything I am looking for in a red wine. Red fruit of fresh
raspberries, rosehip and a super delicate spicy note, which I simply couldn’t
nail – other than it was something like a combination of some earthy notes, mineral
spine and iodine. The taste is super light – super clean yet, powder sleek
texture, yet with enormous precision and with a stunning drinking pleasure.
It’s one of those wines you know will not rest for a day 2 and it’s gone pretty
fast.